Mint magazine preview by AMFI Amsterdam Fashion Institute

Magazine from the Amsterdam Fashion Institute

DeďŹ ning Quirky

Fashion to be Felt Why do you like it?

Letting the clothing speak

Getting Intimate with the Editorial Team Mint is a four-letter word – most good ones are. Mint embraces unkempt moustaches, flushed cheeks, aerodynamic haircuts, white socks, peanut-butter sandwiches. Mint feels like cotton balls. Mint smells like puppies. Mint looks for shiny objects. In this issue we bring you all sorts of previously undiscovered good. We’ve uprooted golden children from all over the world to bring their stories (and pictures!) to you. What makes them Mint? They think about and feel fashion in a uniquely different way. They want to explore and experience it – just like we do. Fashion, for Mint, goes above and beyond aesthetics. It is an experience, something to be felt. Mint aims to give a voice to clothing and tell the stories that are woven in. The Minor Fashion Magazines at AMFI - Amsterdam Fashion Institute offers us, as students, the opportunity to carry the heart of Mint to you.

Illustration by Allyson Mellberg

Face of Fashion Lisa Goudsmit personifies her passion 12 Mintage Vintage clothing so authentic that it takes us back to the time it was created

Quirks and Details Apparel designer Alex Abramenko’s unique view on fashion

Childhood Translations 4 illustrators open up their scrapbooks

Head in the Clouds The work of Tara van Viegen

Introducing A look into the (very active) minds of five young creatives

Just Can’t Let Go The clothing that we just can’t rid of 63 State of Undress Emotions inspired by the ritual of undressing

Transform Fashion Dutch designer JimmyPaul and his power to shape stories

I Spy Dressing up with all the naïvety of a child

The Fashion Almanac Laura Bradley’s structured success

Tracksuits, Moccasins, Apache Moustaches UK Illustrator Patrick Gildersleeves communicates characters with dress

101

When my Dad was Rad The more things change, the more they stay the same

119

Body and Text Linking similarities between fashion silhouettes and popular typography 121 The Garment Thinker Spanish fashion designer Andrea Ayala Closa gets dressed in the dark

125

Yoohoo Yokoo American knitwear designer spills the beans

127

Illustrator Bios Everything that you wanted to know but were afraid to ask

publisher

Charlotte Lokin, Frank Jurgen Wijlens

Amsterdam Fashion Institute

editors & graphic design

special thanks

Tara Dougans (Art Direction) Lisa Goudsmit (Text) Danielle Verheul (Production) Famke Visser (Production)

Joachim Baan, Merel van de Beek, Koos de Boer, Petra Boers, Yma van den Born, Rob van Bracht, Margot Erlings, Alex Feenstra, Anneloes van Gaalen, Helmke van Geel, Mirjam Goedkoop, Cora Grote, Leslie Holden, Liesbeth in ’t Hout, Nannet van der Kleijn, Bregje Lampe, Valentijn Langendorff, Jay Ramautarsing, Peter van Rhoon, robstolk, Willem Schouten, Thierry Sommers, René van de Velde, Ester van Vreden (Unit c.m.a), Marja Vreeswijk, Joanna Watson, Zeeman

yearbook Natalie Hawryshkewich, Kara Hornland, Rosanne Janssen, Selianthe Kallimopoulos, Angela Link

copy editors Lisa Goudsmit, Natalie Hawryshkewich, Andrew Kerven, Frank Jurgen Wijlens

marketing, pr & sales Loek Coerwinkel, Kathrin Fleer, Stephanie van Nuland, Kim Schaafsma, Milou Steegman, Erik de Boer (coach), Janne Coolen (coach)

credentials: clockwise starting bottom left: design by ...and Beyond photography by Barry Hullegie & Sabrina Bongiovanni , Illustration by Petra Lunenburg, photography by RVDA.

editors in chief

All photographers, journalists, copywriters, make-up artists, models, model agencies, brands, designers, and everyone who share their creative talent with Mint.

printed by robstolk® Amsterdam (www.robstolk.nl)

experience Patricia Bronger, Anouk van Disseldorp, Lilian Heinis, Femke Zumbrink, Janneke Gaanderse (coach)

website Anouk Rijkenberg, Thom Snoek, Ellis Schrijvers, Jean-Casimir Morreau (coach)

products Kirsten Keller, Chris Lesny, Silvia Noorits, Vera de Ruijter, Hannah van Well, Linnemore Nefdt (coach)

paper Constellation E E34 fiandra linnenpersing 240g (cover) Mint: Amber graphic 120g and 70g (interior) Yearbook: Cyclus offset 115g (interior) Mint and AMFI Yearbook 2009 are published by Amsterdam Fashion Institute Hogeschool van Amsterdam Mauritskade 11, 1091 GC Amsterdam T: +31 20 595 4555 www.amfi.hva.nl

advertising manager Yma van den Born

On all offers, tenders and agreements made by AMFI - Amsterdam Fashion Institute the conditions of the Dutch law apply. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Although the highest care is taken to make the information contained in Mint as accurate as possible, neither the publisher nor the authors accept any responsibility for damages, of any nature, resulting from the use of this information. The editors of Mint and AMFI Yearbook-2009 have attempted to abide by all copyrights. If someone believes they have copyright to any part of this publication, contact AMFI – Amsterdam Fashion Institute.

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face of fashion Text by Lisa Goudsmit

Throughout our entire lives we care for objects and take an interest in our surroundings. We love them, cherish them, talk to them and give them names. We name our children, so why not our passions? We nurture them, make them better and stronger and most importantly: love them. In a way we all personify our favourite items; we give inanimate objects a soul. When we were younger we had conversations with our teddy bears. After that we spent hours communicating with computer games, and as adults we even name our bicycles and cars. If all these objects are like loved ones to us, why cannot a passion be a friend as well? For as long as I can remember I have been crazy about fashion. At first I was just a lover, but then became obsessed and finally, addicted. While my friends were entertaining themselves with planning weddings for their dolls, I was designing her wedding dress. When they were playing with their teddy bears, I was conversing with my favourite t-shirt. I felt alone, as if I had nobody to discuss my interests with, until one very special day… It was an ordinary Sunday way back in 1993. I was nine years old and in my bedroom looking out the window when my concentration was broken by a weird sound - it was like somebody was whispering in my ear. The sound seemed to come from my closet. I opened the doors and there was this girl standing there with a frown on her face. She was wearing a beautiful floral dress with every colour of the rainbow on it. She had butterflies in her hair and smelt of chocolate chip cookies. Once I got over the shock of her apparition I asked her what was wrong. She looked at me sternly. She said that I was not treating my clothing the way that I should and that by “making a mess of my closet, (I) had disrespected the craft of all the people who had put their hearts and souls into creating (my) beautiful clothing.” She told me that my clothing played an important role in my life - that the pieces would guide me through all of my adventures and, as such, should be treated with the utmost respect.

Fashion is my best friend: she has a name, she has a face.

I was taken aback. Who was this girl? Was this really the conscience of fashion talking to me? The girl stayed in my room for the entire day, and soon I found myself a new best friend who was equally obsessed with clothing. She told me to call her ‘Imogen’, because “…people may say you just imagined me”. For years Imogen was the only person I could really talk to. For a long time I thought I was the only one whose best friend was fashion. That is until I discovered magazines. With every page I turned I realized that I was not the only one completely and utterly taken by fashion. Magazines became my bibles. There were people writing in them that cared just as much about clothing as I did. These people had one another to talk to, not just another Imogen. Throughout the years the appearance of Imogen began to fade. As if she realized that I did not need her as much as I had previously, she started to slowly vanish. Sometimes I imagine that I see a glimpse of her, but I am pretty sure she is gone now. It does not matter though, even when I cannot see her, I know in a way she is always by my side. For me she will always be the face of fashion. Illustration by Caitlin Shearer

The feeling of aged leather, the warm mothball scent: vintage clothing so fine that it transports us back Photography by Robbie Augspurger

1980â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Leather Jacket: Episode || 1990â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Denim Overalls: Episode

ink I think beards are a useful tool - they let you hide from the world a little. Sometimes a man just needs to give himself a little space, and, well - what better way than a bit of a bush growing on your face. I like Russian poetry and western films.

1970â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cotton Shirt: Zipper || 1980â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fur Hat: Episode

Cin

ex I think that it’s important to keep warm at all times. Ever since I watched ‘Deep Impact’, I’ve been terrified of asteroids and stuff. And the sun. I like landscape paintings and snowshoeing. Nature motifs in clothing are probably the best thing that I can think of.

1970’s Wool Sweater: Episode || 1970’s Wool Cap: Zipper

lber I think that if a person is charming they don’t really have to work that hard. Charisma is a way of life. So is tweed. I like Neil Young, fine wine and chewing tobacco.

1980’s 3-Piece Suit: Lady Day || 1970’s Plaid Button-Up: Zipper

Girls

their Dresses Text by Lydia Castle

Her and I have sort of a strange relationship. Sometimes I feel like I’m the absolute last thing that she wants to see. She sort of keeps me buried I think. I feel a bit down because I know that I make her feel really good. Well, I did once, anyways. She used to take me out a lot - I spent a lot of time with her and the man she loved. She used to guide his hands over my bodice. He admired me, he admired her. I miss those times.

She is beautiful and she’s a part of who I am.

I don’t really like to look at her anymore – not since he did what he did, that is. She brings up too many memories for me. And I swear she smells like him. But fuck, I can’t get rid of her. She’s beautiful and she’s a part of who I am. Anyways, I just can’t help the way that I feel right now. I’m hoping that if I give her and I a little bit of space the hard feelings will eventually fade away. She is just too reminiscent of him.

Illustration by Tara Dougans

and Alex Abramenko, a self-professed “apparel designer, illustrator and part-time bus boy” is a young man who reflects a refreshing old-world quality in his designs. His work is tasteful with a little punch of humour.

Interview by Lisa Goudsmit

Photos by Geoffrey Knott

“For me clothing is a way to outwardly express your personality. The way a person moves changes with each garment. The more subtlety, detail and thought that is put into one’s dress the more honest the result. A young man in a grey sweatshirt can say just as much with his clothing as a girl wearing 5 different patterns in one outfit. It’s obvious when a person is wearing what’s right for him or her. This thought is nothing new - but that is what clothing means to me. The world needs fashion. It aids people in developing their personality and creativity. I’m not sure if I need fashion. Maybe it sounds completely stupid, but fashion is a force that chooses you, not the other way around. I design for others because I would be honoured to affect peoples’ lives with my craft; to make them dream a bit. I’ve always enjoyed giving gifts more than receiving them. I do what I do primarily because it’s something I need to get out of my system. I can’t imagine myself doing anything else. I’m also a bit of a dreamer, so I self-indulgently create things I wish existed, especially when I draw. I also do what I do to gain experience, make mistakes, and to have no regrets - the essentials. I don’t think the fashion industry is an uncertain industry. I think its

nature is actually rather predictable. It’s reflected in the way trends and fads steadily swing to and fro every few years. The predictability of fashion is in the editor’s choices – usually the loudest piece in the collection. I think my passion is stopping me from looking for a career in another industry. I believe that the skills I am acquiring right now will be useful in the future when the industry is a little more stable.”

The joy of watching an ill-fitting garment “As a child I was surrounded by what seemed to be a rather loud atmosphere in all aspects: from the way people dress to the way they talk. That is not to say it was bad - I just didn’t identify with it. Thus my personality is probably a backlash to all of that. I like to remain modest. I dress in a very non-descript manner. To this day I’m shy to tell people that I’m in ‘fashion’, choosing ‘apparel design’ instead because it sounds a little less harsh. In any case what I ‘lose’ in my extroverted qualities, I hope I gain in my creativity. In other respects I’m sort of different from my immediate family. It is as if all the character traits that belonged to my great-grandparents and ancestors

came flooding back to the present. It’s only now that I’m finding out that one of my great-grandmothers was a petites mains seamstress. As for who I am right now I’m just a kid having fun with some paper, pencils, scissors and fabric... and the devils of my own imagination in attendance. However, a personality is sort of malleable, people change. I’m sure I’ll be a different person in a year. I believe in a way of life that allows people to think. We are born, and then, as young men and women we see the world around us, which is a rather nasty place sometimes. This is where the creative individual comes in: to discover new feelings, new skills, new concepts, make some new things out of old ones. Always seeking the alternative to return our capacity for imagination to where it should be. I love to watch people. Their faces and how they behave. The oddities in their body language, or their laughs, and especially their dress. I love to watch the way an ill-fitting garment falls on the body. I love drawing those things. I also love to eat, drink coffee, travel on airplanes, read, walk really fast (but not run), and lastly, I love to work.

get out of my comfort zone and go places I’d never normally go. That, I believe, is a great way to meet people. I recently met someone interesting in a Laundromat.”

Mishmash of Influences

“I cannot dispense of things easily. It’s a problem I’m sure that many people encounter. I have thought about throwing away some dresses I made in high school, but I just cannot. Like my stack of really mediocre 1970’s fashion magazines, the only reason I cannot throw them away is because they were given to me by my grandmother. I found myself taking on a few influences lately. I will always be enamoured with mid century couturiers like Christian Dior and Cristobal Balenciaga, and the documentation of their work by Irving Penn - especially his photographs of Jean Patchett and her famous beauty mark. It is an influence I fought for the longest time because I thought it too ‘pretty’, but the world of fashion does owe a lot to 1940’s and 50’s couture. Every garment was special and striking. At the opposite end of the spectrum of glamour I am greatly influenced by everyday people and their clothing. There is incredible beauty in that. If my designs could talk they would ramble on forever about many things at once until you got tired of their talking. The mishmash of influences always makes it into my designs, sometimes more obviously, sometimes a lot less. I’m also obsessed with turning things inside out. I would use the wrong side of the fabric. I have done that before. Not only on prints, but on solid fabrics too. I’m not sure where that impulse comes from, but I have always been fascinated by the ‘wrong’ side. If I could see the ‘wrong side’ of people and many other things, countless curiosities would be satisfied. Should I grow to become a mature designer, I will always strive for ease and comfort, old-world quality, as well as a sense of humour in my designs.”

“I am greatly influenced by everyday people and their clothes. There is incredible beauty in that” I have a difficult time connecting with people though. A dear friend of mine says that you only meet someone great every two years. While that is not serious, of course, I have only met a few people that I truly connect with. It is because I’m so picky. I believe in having a connection from the start. I pay too much attention to quirks and details. I get obsessed with people easily, I don’t know why that is, but I just can’t relate to many individuals. I am also picky about the places I go. Lately though I’ve really been trying to

From youth to adulthood, we experiment with a variety of shapes, colours and styles. By reviewing our childhood illustrations, we can observe these tiny evolutions as they happen. We can map how we are affected by the events that take place in our life. Compiled by Tara Dougans

As a child I was untainted and self-sufficient. As an adult I am resolute and explorative In relation to art, it was a specific day in 8th grade when I realized that drawings didn't have to be photorealistic to be what I considered ‘good’ or admirable. My art teacher at the time made us replicate magazine photos for the entire class period - I don't blame him - but because of this nearly every page in my sketchbook was filled with smudged pencil drawings of models and celebrities. I remember having a discussion with my best friend, realizing that we could make what we called ‘purposefully shitty’ drawings and still be good ‘artists’. In 8th grade, ‘shitty’ was equivalent to anything that wasn't an airbrushed-looking portrait. Moving to New York City really changed my life. Prior to this I had a very shallow definition of art, not to mention a naïve and extremely trusting outlook towards people. Living in the suburbs, I was exposed to what I recently realized was a very limited amount of just about everything. The last thing I ever wanted to do was graphic design, because I thought that digital art had to look like trippy computer wallpapers or the vector drawings on my Trapper Keeper. I’m now a graphic designer and my work is nothing like that. When it comes to my illustrations, especially portraits, I'm no longer interested in just drawing a likeness; I like to show what I’ve learned about people's personalities rather than how well I can draw their faces. As a child I drew animals being comfortable - dogs watching TV and cuddling with their parents in dog houses, my spider plant, my fish, fruit bowls, dad's facial hair, under-water scenes, eyebrow-noses that were one continuous line because it looked like Picasso. Today I draw mostly people and inanimate objects. When I draw objects I break them down into hundreds of small shapes and concentrate on drawing each individually until I have the whole thing. I find that I can make any object more interesting and complex by doing this. Most people I draw are loosely based off of my best friend Tara and my boyfriend Brian, yet always somewhat resemble French Stewart. About eighty percent of my time on the internet is spent looking at the work of other artists; it's almost too easily accessible. Living in New York I am also constantly surrounded by influences of all kinds. Sometimes I research with the intent of exposing and inspiring myself, and other times it comes to me when I least expect it. For me, it normally takes some amount of effort - I need to find problems to solve in order to feel the need to make art.

As a child, I was curly and stubborn. As an adult, I am quiet and pale. I cannot pinpoint one exact moment from my childhood, but a multitude of small occurrences that made me realize how the world works. I remember falling off my scooter and getting 9 stitches in my knee before tap dance class and then still going to class with my leg all bandaged up. I remember sitting in the high school library drawing on paper and silently hating a lot of things. I remember meeting best friends on buses and I remember things like vodka and orange juice will always make you silly. I’ve only been an adult for a year and a half, I’m only 19, so I’m not really sure yet. I don’t think anything significant has happened to me yet. As a child I drew mermaids, the Spice Girls, and my friends in fashionable dresses. Today I draw some pretty girls, some sad girls and some boys who have lost their bravado. I look at a lot of pictures of shoes and fabric and paper dolls and hair ribbons and legs and lips. I have midnight parties in parks with my best friends and we talk about silly things like mice in coat pockets and John Galliano - that’s more inspiration than I could ever hope for.

As a child, I was shy and imaginative. As an adult, I am industrious and curious. As a young girl, my most significant moment was working in my Motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s studio. As an adult, meeting my husband and collaborator has truly affected me. Pretty ladies, flowers and cats were sprinkled throughout my childhood illustrations. Today I like to draw people, animals (real and invented - and hybrids of the two), rocks, corals and plants, etc. I have a sincere inner curiousity that has not left me yet - so every time I read something or I go to the ocean or out to my garden I am looking and wondering and that translates back into my work. This whole process from start to finish is a source of happiness for me.

When I was a little girl, I was pretty shy and studious, wily. Today I am excited, and childish? In thinking about making art as a child, I can’t stop thinking about my preschool. It was a Waldorf-style of preschool education, with a philosophy based around imagination and with a no-plastic rule. Every day we would paint on these little wooden easels and make up plays and bake rolls of bread to bring home. It seems both incredible and totally unreal in hindsight. Kindergarten in a normal academic institution was a bit of a bummer after that. After finishing university this past summer, there really hasn’t been a dull moment. Playing in bands with my best friends and brother, touring to weird and crazy great places, putting on shows, being involved with a lot of collaborative art projects and with a great arts collective in my hometown. I once only drew my family and I, animals in human situations, tiny hats and bows. Today it’s portraits, landscapes and animals - although elements of geometry, pattern, flat opaque colours and small surprises are also usually involved. I was never into buying art supplies before but I just discovered painting with acrylic gouache about a year ago, which is helping me achieve the exact thing I’ve been trying to do for years with free-box paint, so So-Be-It. And inspiration? Mostly outside pressure... I rely on other people who need album artwork, posters or submissions done in order to motivate me to draw and paint instead of just hanging out and snacking all day... Otherwise: patterns, bizarre colour combinations, making summer plans, supportive DIY art and music communities. Obviously admiration and jealousy of other people’s art that just kills me is always a good inspiration too.

in the

A lovely look into the work of Tara van Viegen Photography by Monique Teunissen Production and Styling by Kara Hornland

Dress by Lotte Biermasz Shoes by Zara

Dress by Lisanne Stoop

Dress and Pants by Lotte Biermasz Shoes by Zara

Pantsuit by Lotte Biermasz Shoes by Pied a Terre

Chanine Kerseboom: PR

Introducing These five individuals like clothing... a lot. They also like frog legs, sweaters with rainbows on them, pirates and the ‘Caribbean Bubbling Move’. Here is what drives them to continue pursuing their dream to work in fashion. Text by Lisa Goudsmit Illustrations by Tara Dougans

You are Chanine but within the agency you are Sjaak. Are there two different persons or just different names? “Sjaak and Chanine are the same person, but there are certainly differences. I think Chanine is more impulsive and opinionated than Sjaak. For instance both in private and in business I am very active through different online communities. This is a fun part of our job, but what I post online (personal and business wise) can directly affect our business. I am aware of that and that means I’m more careful.” What does fashion mean to you? “It means being broke all the time. It’s the reason why I always spend all my money. It does not matter what it is: even buying hairstrings can make my day. Buying clothes makes me feel confident. I feel reborn when I wear a new outfit.” Why do you think the world needs fashion? “Otherwise everybody would look the same!” How do you combine PR and fashion? Do they need each other? “As a PR agency we are responsible for spreading the word and informing the right blogs/magazines/newspapers with the content we’d like to spread. Yes, they need each other! It’s always a challenge to get people to think and to talk about the message we’ve spread. That can be about fashion or another discipline.” What is your relationship with your favorite piece of clothing? “I wear it, wash it, wear it, wash it, wear it, wash it, and so on.” What dance-move is your most successful one? ‘The Caribbean Bubbling Move’. It is all about shaking the hips as fast as possible and having a sexy facial expression. It is so special that I try to only use it on special occasions.” What is your drive in life? “My own drive to make the best of everything. Also I never take ‘no’ for an answer.” What is your most important tool business-wise? “My skill to create the right network of creative people around me. Karel & Sjaak is all about bringing the right people together. We know what is happening right now and we are there at the right time, the right place, doing the right things.” What does public relations mean to you? “It is about making people enthusiastic about something I really like myself. Not just selling something by using the ‘correct’ words, but by really convincing people.” What makes Karel & Sjaak different from other PR agencies? “For starters most people see us as two individuals and not as a company. In our work and the assignments we take on we stay close to ourselves. We would never do a job because of the money. We only agree to do it if it feels good and it will be fun, thus we do a good job and that makes us credible. Yes, sometimes that means that we say ‘no’ to the big bucks, but in the long term it will be better for us personally and for Karel & Sjaak.” Don’t agencies like yours suffer tremendously from the financial crisis? “Well ours isn’t?! Even before we started the agency both of us were online specialists. The internet has opened up the way to the consumer and we do not necessarily need traditional media such as print. That saves time and money which is appealing to companies.” Do you have a unique piece of clothing in your wardrobe that you’re not wearing but just can’t let go of? “An old fashioned, not so pretty top I wore at my prom night in 1999. I also wore it on the first date with my boyfriend and really thought I looked fashionable and special. But when I look at it now… I have to admit I was wrong.” What is Karel without Sjaak, and what is Sjaak without Karel? “That’s very simple; nothing. We always work on projects as a team and we really complement one another.” www.karel-sjaak.nl

Dutchie Chanine Kerseboom is co-owner of PR and communication agency Karel & Sjaak, which was founded during her studies. Chanine still wants to graduate from the Fashion & Branding department but will Sjaak let her?

Philipp Grittmann: Brander

Have you ever eaten frog legs? “They are hilarious creatures and should not be legless just because they taste good with garlic and butter.” If X is a kiss, what does Y mean? “Eternal love on white horses.” Would you rather be a toilet attendent or a garbage collector? “An old drunk told me recently, without me asking for it, that all toilet ladies are part time prostitutes. He told me that crusty old toilet ladies with names like Rosi or Danica frequent dodgy restaurant bathrooms offering their services for only 5 Euros and, if they like you, then it’s free. I would rather throw garbage bags into a truck than convince men that such ‘extras’ are not mandatory toilet favours. In addition the fun I would have annoying people by shouting random things to my colleagues early in the morning or causing traffic jams in the narrow side streets would make being a garbage man the ideal job.” What animal do you resemble? “A very fast adapting smart-ass stem of bacteria or virus maybe: “This is getting boring, let’s change ourselves!” What has inspired you recently? “Everything can be inspiring to me so it does not matter if I am at home or stroking dolphins on tropical islands. Something that inspired me recently was witnessing two obese children named Staci and Kelly wearing pink sweaters with rainbows and the word Fashion on them, bugging their mum for more sweets at 10 am in a bakery. I had another inspiring moment when I was reading an e-mail from a dyslexic friend of mine who is unaware of his sometimes ambiguous spelling mistakes. And a quote by Karl Lagerfeld inspired me: ‘Ideen kommen beim Arbeiten’ which means ‘ideas come while working.’” What do you think the world is missing right now ? “I would like a device which allows me to stop time for a few hours and just let me enjoy some moments a little longer.” How do you try to be authentic? “Authentic people do not try to be authentic, they just are(!)... and arrogant people write such things like the latter.” What does fashion mean to you? Why do you like it? “To me fashion is a way of communication with one’s environment. Since we do not communicate with most people around us that we don’t know we form our opinions about them mainly based on visual aspects. Fashion plays a big part in that. For example, about a year ago I had a large moustache. In Amsterdam this was not accepted by most people especially drunken frat-boys who were always getting on my nerves with their comments and their questions. I was not fitting into any of their categories and that puzzled them. In the small remote town where my grandparents live however, I suddenly became very accepted with my moustache. After years of not being greeted and being ignored every holiday due to my city dweller appearance, I suddenly fell into some sort of box which made me worthy of polite conversation with my new facial hairdo. I love analyzing and playing with such things - the different fashions of the subgroups that form our western societies. Besides that I also love the ever changing nature of the fashion business. Even though this change is forming repeating circles every 30 years, it’s fascinating to see how clothing trends, and trends in general, mirror the developments of our civilization.” Do you have a unique piece of clothing in your wardrobe that you’re not wearing but just can’t let go of? “A dark blue Adidas track-suit with shocking pink stripes and the words ‘Sex Style’ on the back.” What piece of clothing have you had the longest? How do you preserve it? “A t-shirt from my old primary school (wonderful crappy logo). I recently went to a print-screen workshop to ‘clone’ it.” What do you want to be when you grow up? “The best ME that ever existed in the universe!”

Philipp Grittman has an interest in trendwatching, fashion, society and mostly in people. He used to study Psychology and is now about to complete his second year of Fashion & Branding at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute.

Designer Mick Keus graduated from Amsterdam Fashion Institute last year. Currently he states his profession as ‘impossible to describe’. He is creating new items in a gallery in Scheveningen.

Mick Keus: Designer

What does fashion mean to you? “A lot. Fashion is a form of self expression. Clothing can really create a character and show how somebody truly is. You can also manipulate and play with fashion. For instance, the movie ‘Catch Me If You Can’ is a good example of that. Every time the lead character transforms into somebody else he starts by dressing like the specific individual he wants to mimic at that time.” What piece of clothing have you had the longest? How do you preserve it? “My Miu Miu shirt. It used to be black, but it is grey now. It also used to have special cuff links, but because one button fell off, they transformed into a whole new shape. Wearing and washing the shirt brought it to life. These kind of things inspire me.” What was your favorite outfit as a child? “My Batman costume for sure. My ultimate goal in life was to be Batman. I even made myself a Batmobile and let my friends push the car.” What makes you wake up with a smile in the morning? “Cigarettes and a coffee.” What is your favorite story in the world? “I like stories about pirates. They are rebellious, exciting and adventurous. Ever since I was a little boy it was my dream to own a big ship and travel around the world.” Why do you like fashion? “Because it gives people the ability to change. Clothing can transform somebody into something they are not.” What animal do you resemble? “A lion. I look like one, especially because of my hair. I guess not a lot of people agree with me, but I feel attracted to cat-like animals.” What makes your hair cut award winning? “The fact that it is not particularly styled. I go to the hairdresser once a year and that is enough. What happens the rest of the 364 days on my head can be seen as a natural development.” If cheese makes you smile, what would make you cry? “Trance music.” What dance move is your most successful one? “A combination of the splits with a special Flik Flak move, for a start.” What is your biggest source of inspiration? “Music, people and pictures inspire me. When I start working on a new collection, music is the first step I take to connect to my feelings. From that starting point I go out into the streets and start taking pictures of people and objects that grab my attention. With the feelings I get from music and pictures I start working on a certain concept from which I sketch designs. The pictures create a connecting line throughout my collections.” What word do you use the most? “Godverdommuh. It may sound like an Arabic dessert or a Greek goddess, but what it means in Dutch one can only guess...” What are the top 5 pieces in your wardrobe? An old pair of Levi’s 501. A sweater by Belgian designer Ann Demeulenmeester. An 8-year old shirt by Miu Miu. A Clarks Desert shirt and all my H&M items combined together make the fifth piece.” What is your relationship with your favorite piece of clothing? “I don’t have a specific favorite item. I wear everything I have, I can’t just leave it on the hanger. I need to wear my clothes.” If you were a color, what would you be? “Black. It’s the colour of the night. The colour of the shade. The colour that is just as exciting as I am!” What is best thing about going to fashion school? “The fact that you get to see and learn different sides of the fashion industry. Designing is great, but unfortunately it is only like 5% of the whole process.” What is the best advice you have ever received? “To put my clock one hour ahead because wintertime was coming.”

Canadian born Morgan-Zara Ward graduated at the Fashion & Management department of AMFI last year and is currently working as a fashion buyer in the Netherlands.

Morgan-Zara Ward: Buyer So what is it like working as a fashion buyer? “I am a buyer at a family company that provides corporate fashion for diverse businesses, from catering to corporate uniforms. Before this I used to work at Marlies Dekkers, which is an internationally successful lingerie brand. Now these two fields may seem so far apart, but I consider them to be alike in the sense that both have to produce excellent quality goods and conform to high demands. Fit is as important for lingerie as it is for corporate clothing. I like working in different fields of fashion brands to have a broad spectrum of industry knowledge.” Have you ever had a conversation with an inanimate object? “No, but I have had a few with myself in the mirror. We tend to get along perfectly.” Why do you like fashion? “I love fashion because it’s so dynamic. It’s art, design, self-expression and culture. With fashion you can translate a trend, express your culture, reflect the society you live in. It’s like a form of sculpture that must be tailored to fit the wearers’ body, ideally accenting and subtracting from the highlights and drawbacks of the figure. It inspires so many people and affects so many lives, from photographers to cotton farmers. I think that’s amazing.” Would you ever consider eating frog legs? “Hmm... I’d rather kiss a frog, (and turn him into a prince) than eat his legs.” What made you stay in The Netherlands? Is Canada not fashionable enough for you? “Canada is certainly fashion oriented, although I think the market is a bit more conservative. In the Netherlands the perception of fashion is very different. Some girls shop at H&M and Gucci at the same time. Anything goes in Dutch clothing behavior. Having working experience in both cultures is perfect. I can use and combine the very best of both.” Do you have a unique piece in your wardrobe that you’re not wearing but just can’t let go off? “My grandmother’s fur hat and brooches. She says that hat sure kept her warm in the cold Canadian winters. The brooches are just sparkly and fun for dinner parties.” What piece of clothing have you had the longest? “My graduation dress from junior high school. I was 14 and my mum made it for me. I can still remember her sitting behind the Singer sewing machine on those warm summer evenings. It’s a white summer dress with thin satin ribbons as straps, crossed as the back. I don’t preserve it, I wear it! I love the memories it holds and the way it looks.” How do you think the fashion industry will change in the next 5 years? “I think fashion will be refined over the coming years. For some time fashion has been disposable. I think what is happening to the world economy and subsequently fashion is that there will be less variety and endless alternatives. The weaker parts of the industry will cease to survive and only the strong ones, from brands to producers, will remain. What will change is the level of satisfaction of the end consumer. Their high demands will be understood and answered. Fashion will go beyond ‘clothes’. I think all the new research we have done over the past decade on garment finishes, laser cutting, new dying processes, micro-technology fabrics and sustainable farming will become the norm and standard. But it won’t just be ‘new is better’. I think more emphasis will be placed on the fit of garments. I also think visits to the tailor, the shoemaker, and other ‘fashiondoctors’ will become part of wardrobe upkeep and grooming again.”

Thomas Vermeer: Fashion Editor

What are ‘Fashion Motions’? “When I was researching fashion communication I noticed a new trend of short fashion movies online. Internet sites such as SHOWStudio and Fly Magazine were posting short videos online, really a sort of moving photo shoot. I named them Fashion Motions. To me this is the new way of bringing fashion to life, replacing 2D photo shoots with an almost 3D technique even though they are still ‘flat’. I really see a future in this new method of fashion communication. They are not a replacement for 2D media, for example magazines, but they can certainly add something.” What does fashion mean to you? “It can be one of the most creative and innovative fields of work. To me fashion is a way to express my ideas and creativity. A single piece of clothing can tell a whole story.” What dance move is your most successful one? “The one where I jump up and down, waving my hands like a lunatic. I haven’t thought of a proper name for it yet. Supposedly it makes me look very funny.” What was your favorite item of clothing as a child? “When I was 7 my mum got me a navy blue knitted sweater with a multicolored parrot on it. His eye was a little black bead that I always used to play with. I loved that sweater so much until one day I was wearing it to a funfair and I got sick on a rollercoaster ride. I threw up all over my favorite sweater. Of course it was the rollercoaster that made me nauseous, but I was convinced that it was the sweater. From that day on I called it my ‘vomit-sweater’ and refused to wear it anymore.” What would you like to add to the fashion industry? “Inspiration! I would like to create intelligent and subtle images with a discrete sense humor. My styling is monumental and architectonic with sexy elements, combined with surprising twists that provoke different emotions. I like psychological and religious elements. I like to play with the psychology behind that contrast. At Glamcult they give me the freedom to add art-elements and a second layer in the photo shoots.” What animal do you resemble? “Sometimes I think I resemble a dolphin. I would really like to be a marine animal. The other day I was watching Discovery Channel and saw a documentary about some kind of luminous coloured fish. That is really a way to stand out in the crowd isn’t it? Although I don’t really like to stand out that much. I used to dress up like a fashion clown but I got really tired of it. Now I’m more modest with a focus on detail.” Is your hair cut award winning? “Depends on the award. It could win an award for most fixated look with the amount of hairspray there is in there.” Do you have a piece of clothing in your wardrobe that you’re not wearing but just can’t let go of? “I have a gold and platinum coated sweater that I used to wear. Even though the cut is basic, the gold makes it so ‘out there’. I wore it once to an interview with the singer Roisin Murphy and she was wearing only a simple white top. It made me look like the star, not her. I also have Ray Ban wayfarer glasses in every color ever made that I probably should just throw away now.” What inspires you? “I have this strange fascination for bugs, I collect preserved animals like butterflies, bugs and stick insects. My grandmother also used to collect them and I always found them fascinating so she gave them to me. My favorite is probably the Hercules bug. They are so beautiful and refined, exactly the style I would like to have as a fashion editor. Recently I used lady bugs for a photo shoot.” www.thomasvermeer.com For Thomas’ ‘Fashion Motions’ go to www.mintmagazine.nl

Thomas Vermeer researched new fashion communication for his graduation project. Since the beginning of 2008 he has been working as a freelance Fashion Editor for ‘Glamcult Independent Style Paper’.

canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let

Exploring the depths of our closets to find our most treasured pieces Photography by Gidi van Maarseveen Production by Danielle Verheul Make-up by Shirley de Jong at House of Orange

State of Undress

Compiled by Famke Visser

Our clothing is more than fabric on our backs. It has a direct impact on how we view ourselves as human beings. But what happens when it all comes off? Four illustrators depict the ritual of undress and the emotions that come along with it.

“Quiet.”

Illustration by Brett Manning

“Vulnerable.”

Illustration (Left Page) by Joanna Grönvall

“Hesitant.”

Illustration by Rachel Hardwick

“Expecting.”

Illustration (Right Page) by Ellara Woodlock

In his new collection, ‘Peau de Chagrin’, designer JimmyPaul responds to the current financial times by transforming women with beautifully crafted, oversized fabric armours. His raison d’être? To tell the story of time and history.

Interview by Lisa Goudsmit

Photos by ArtOlive: Collection ‘Peau de Chagrin’

“In my work clothing tells the story I want it to tell. For instance my latest collection ‘Peau de Chagrin’ (Skin of Sorrow) was inspired by the current financial situation in the world. The idea was that when people want to show their wealth they can do so by wearing all their belongings on their body. That idea developed into the concept of morphing body shapes. Eventually the design process brought me to a future where people would put everything on their body all at once.This maybe looks like a strong armour, but actually it makes them vulnerable because it is all they have and if they lose it they are left with nothing. I don’t know why women feel so compelled to dress themselves in a revealing way these days - do they really? Or is it just that we tell them that they have to think like that? Maybe they like wearing revealing clothing, but to say you do makes you provocative. Anyway, me covering them up in my latest collection

was part of my story inspired by the current financial situation. It did not have anything to do with the idea that I think women should cover themselves up. Capturing History in Design If I could pick a few items I could carry on my body at all times, one of them would definitely be my bicycle. I like being independent and going wherever I want, whenever I want. I would also have disinfecting gel with me to be able to wash my hands without water as I like feeling clean. Other things would be an extra outfit, just in case, and a note book and pen; I need to be able to write my ideas down right away. The world needs fashion because it is one of the best ways to explain an era or a time in history. It says a lot about how people felt during that time and what was going on. You can

=H<NF>GMBG@ LMRE> Photos by Semeul Souhuwat: Collection â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;You would cry too if it happened to you, tu tu tu tuuu tuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

â&#x20AC;&#x153;My clothes are a tool for connectionâ&#x20AC;? say that fashion was, and always will be, important in history and the future. I need fashion because clothing has the power to transform me into who I want to be. I hope my designs will inspire people to do the same.â&#x20AC;? Everything can be Art â&#x20AC;&#x153;My childhood affected who I am today and what I do a lot. All the difficulties I had with different kinds of people and my escape from that to my fantasy world, allow me today to feel free to create anything I want. It also allows me to see logic in illogical combinations. Today I am a designer. I believe in myself. I do the things I do because Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m confident enough to think that what I feel is important for the world. Fashion means a lot to me. Specific clothes allow me to be who I want to be. I always enjoyed dressing up. My work makes me able to connect with others, but also my words and clothes are a tool of connection. I always enjoyed dressing in 1950s fashion. My favourite outfit to go out in and impress is my â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;50s suit. If I had to pick a specific fashion item an â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;80s wedding gown would probably express my view on design aesthetics best. It has a lot of decorations and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;puffinessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, but that makes it into a wedding gown. So basically shape, decorations and styling go hand in hand. Like my own work. I can get inspired by everything.

I learned that everything can be art. So up to this day I still keep a bag of empty batteries in my house. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m still hoping for that one day when they will inspire me to create something out of them. My graduation collection was inspired by the song Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s my party (and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll cry if I want to). The items were inspired by decoration used at parties. I like designing dramatic fashion.â&#x20AC;? Costumes for Everybody â&#x20AC;&#x153;If my life would be a party the theme would be Halloween. I noticed that when people get the chance to dress up they are much more creative with their outfits. People really take the time to think of a good costume. So if everyday would be a dress-up party that would be great! Can you imagine? Every city in the world, filled with people wearing amazing costumesâ&#x20AC;Ś That would be fantastic!â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;My design aesthetic certainly evolved over the past 5 years. During my studies, I learned to think in a conceptual way and translate that to a shape. Also I learned that I really need to stay close to myself. I can say something about the world, but in the end I need to stay close to me, to make it interesting. For example the launch of my latest collection. It started with the idea of the global recession, but developed into the idea of me trying to be something Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not.â&#x20AC;?

www.jimmypaul.com

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fashion now

De Elza Show: narcisme & zomerjurkjes Big Cartel: goudmijn voor shopaholics Report: sex, fashion & de CODE Gallery Store Rapper Cazwell: gay, maar niet onderdanig Oplichter of genie? Mannenontwerper Thom Browne Monique van Heist: â&#x20AC;&#x153;CreĂŤren geeft machtâ&#x20AC;?

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issue 10 spring/summer 2008 prijs 8,95 euro

Laser Proof

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ISSUE 11 SUMMER 2008 PRIJS 8,95 EURO

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ISSUE 14 SPRING 2009 PRIJS 8,95 EURO

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Girls

their Dresses Text by Lydia Castle

I knew I was meant to be in her arms when I saw her peering at me through the shop window. She admired me, touched me and caressed my pleats with her delicate finger tips. Her name was Caroline. It didn’t take her long to realize that we were meant to be together: Caroline took me home almost immediately. When we got up to her room, she carefully unwrapped my parcel and lay me on the bed. She unbuttoned her coat, sat down beside me and pulled off her shoes. My heart fluttered a little with anticipation. On her body I felt fulfilled. Finally: I had found my other.

She unbuttoned her coat and sat down beside me

When I left the house that morning, I knew that I was looking for something special. As I walked along, the usual pretty shapes pulled at me but couldn’t deter me from my purpose. When I saw her in the shop window, I knew she was the one: I had never seen something so beautiful. I had to have her. I was so excited to take her home. I wanted to feel her, know her, go out at night and dance with her. On our first night together, I really felt like myself. She made me feel comfortable. She just knew and fit my body so well. For the first time I really felt like a woman. We’re still together today.

Illustration by Tara Dougans

with my little

Playing dress-up with all the wonder and excitement of a child Photography by Toeps, Bianca de Jong Make-up by Anneke Vlasveld at House of Orange Production by Danielle Verheul Styling by Tara Dougans & Danielle Verheul

Top by Django Steenbakker Bow Stylistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Own

Petticoat by Laura Dolls || Top by Der Kommissar || Socks Stylistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Own || Shoes by Bertie

Top by Der Kommissar || Bloomers by Laura Dols

Skirt by MATTIJS Top by Daryl van Wouw Jacket by Stella Nova Shoes by Fred Perry

Dress by Antoine Peters || Tights Stylist’s Own || Shoes by Bertie || Bow Stylist’s Own

Tights by EnD by Eva and Delia

Top by Individuals || Skirt by Episode || Tights stylist own || Shoes by Fred Perry

Top by Django Steenbakker Tights by EnD by Eva and Delia Shorts by Thelin 83

Top and Leggings by Claes Iversen Bustier Stylistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Own

The Fashion Almanac, 2008’s most surprising new fashion publication, sold out from newstands in under a week. We sat down with creator Laura Bradley to discuss how her structured vision changed the way we look at fashion. Interview by Tara Dougans

When Laura Bradley completed her print fashion publication The Fashion Almanac as her graduation project from Central Saint Martins in 2008, she never could have guessed it would get such raving reviews from all over the world. She is the first person to create an almanac for what had only ever been previously in magazines. Her innovative project was so refreshing and beautiful, that she became a well known name in the world of fashion journalism. Currently she works as a fashion features editor at SHOWstudio.comphotographer Nick Knight’s fashion website.

What is your relationship with fashion?

“It’s a love/hate relationship. I love seeing a remarkable fashion show, reading a thoughtprovoking Cathy Horyn review, receiving a standout guest-edited issue of A Magazine (in particular, the one by Jun Takahashi in 2006), watching a powerful three-minute fashion film online. I dislike the insecurities and the falsities the industry breeds. I’m drawn to the really clever, polite, genuine creatives - there are surprisingly very few but working at SHOWstudio I come into contact with a lot of them.”

What is your favorite fashion item?

“There are lots of items of clothing in my wardrobe that I like and enjoy wearing although I wouldn’t say there was a specific piece I to which I was especially connected. Bags are very important to me, most of them have some sort of story attached to them. I’m very particular in the style of bags I own. It ‘s frustrating when they don’t have pockets as I like to keep their contents neat and tidy. I use my chocolate Mulberry Bayswater a lot. It’s quite battered as I’ve had it for four years.”

Do you think your education in fashion

delivered you to where you are today or do you think ambition played a larger part? “Education has played a really important part in my life. I’m lucky to have attended a prestigious college like Central Saint Martins and to have been surrounded by lots of creative, talented individuals, but a lot of my ‘education’ came from other areas - mentors, my internship at SHOWstudio, living in London, my friends, even my part-time shop job at Dover Street Market. If I’m honest at the time I was there I did not really enjoy my time at Saint Martins. Now that I’ve left, my opinion has shifted somewhat. I even miss it sometimes, especially those long lie-ins and its fantastic library. Even though I’ve graduated, my education hasn’t stopped. I’m still learning new things every day.”

How has the creation of The Fashion Almanac changed your life?

“It was my final year degree project on the (BA) Hons Fashion Communication with Promotion course at Central Saint Martins. I had 100 copies printed - most of these went to my contributors and the remainder were sold in the London bookshop Claire de Rouen. They sold out in just under a week! Over the past year the reaction to The Fashion Almanac has been quite overwhelming. I’ve received over 300 emails from people all over the world wanting to buy a copy. What was most rewarding were the personal messages I received from people I really admire in the industry - journalist Sarah Mower, editor of Fantastic Man Jop van Bennekom, design duo M/M (Paris), graphic designer Peter Saville and author Ben Schott. I wasn’t able to spend that much time promoting the magazine

(I started at SHOWstudio two months after I graduated) but the Internet and word-ofmouth means that it has become quite well known in a very short space of time. I was commissioned by New York Look magazine to do a series of Fashion Equations at the end of last year and was invited to participate

of Book, Well, Back of Book), approach and features of traditional women’s magazines. Fashion is the ideal candidate for the almanac framework. Its complex, multi-faceted formation and ever-evolving nature provides a rich source of inspiration and subject matter for content. The almanac approach enabled me to bring to the forefront all of the interesting, usually hidden elements of the industry: explicitly revealing designer’s references and the season’s overlapping ideas, explaining how to pronounce designer’s names (I learned very early on the ultimate fashion faux pas is to mispronounce), and plotting the many now-successful photographers that once assisted Nick Knight. The Fashion Almanac is a niche magazine intended for those interested in fashion, but are bored with seeing it presented in the same way. They crave an interesting fashion magazine. One that is more authentic and stimulating than mainstream glossies, and has more important things to communicate than what is in or out.”

“For the first time ever men’s magazines seemed more appealing than women’s” in a fashion exhibition at Claire de Rouen’s Exit Gallery alongside 032c, Acne Paper and Fanzine 032c.”

How do you feel that The Fashion Almanac differs from the standard fashion publication?

“I spent quite a lot of time researching magazines before I started work on my own. It occurred to me there were very few magazines available that really interested me enough to pay for them. Most of the magazines available on the newsstand were heavily visual (and most of that was bad fashion imagery). What was really lacking were lengthy, good quality articles. For the first time ever men’s magazines seemed more appealing than women’s. Inspired and encouraged by Fantastic Man (launched early 2005), numerous men’s titles have since emerged, such as Man About Town, that take on a different role to the conventional titles directed at men (GQ, Nuts, Loaded and Arena). They employ intelligence, humour and good taste. I kept these men’s titles in mind as well as a number of good examples I’d found over the years outside of the fashion arena - a now-defunct in-flight magazine called Carlos that used to be distributed in Virgin Atlantic Upper Class and the independent graphic design magazine Dot Dot Dot.”

An almanac is somewhat the antithesis of a magazine – is there a reason why you chose to discuss fashion in such an atypical way?

“I would argue that it is not, I don’t think they are actually that far apart. I think The Fashion Almanac sits somewhere between the two models. It has all the rigorous, extreme ways of ordering information typical of an almanac, but it borrows the structure (Front

So why do you think that you were the first person to choose an almanac model to communicate the world of fashion?

“I really can’t believe that nobody had thought to do it before I did. There is so much fashion information available through countless numbers of magazines and the overwhelming opportunities that the Internet allows. I remember feeling quite overwhelmed and recognized there was a real need to bring order and structure. That’s the way I approach a lot of things in life so it made sense to be doing it with the magazine I was creating. Almanacs had become really popular around the time that I was writing my proposal and I’d purchased quite a few different versions. They had covered the mainstream areas like sport, music and science but had missed out fashion completely. It’s been interesting, and frustrating, to see that a number of highprofile publications have since copied my approach.”

The purpose of The Fashion Almanac is to “inform, intrigue, inspire and entertain”. With this in mind how did you make a selection for the editorial

content in the magazine? What was your filter? “The Fashion Almanac is the result of years and years of research. Since my schooldays I’ve been accumulating inspirational tear sheets. When I started work on my magazine I worked through my collection and organized it in two lever-arch files. The tear sheets were all things that I really liked so they were quite easy to categorize and fitted surprisingly well together. I guess the magazine started to form in those lever-arch files. Throughout the course of making my magazine I would ask myself two questions: Have I seen this done somewhere before? and Would I want to see this in a magazine?”

It is clear that there are a lot of personal voices featured in The Fashion Almanac. Why did you choose to include intimate pieces within such a structured format?

“One of the things I learnt during my time at SHOWstudio was the importance of contributors. The team has built up firm relationships with over 600 industry practitioners and I was privileged to come into contact with a number of them whilst working on numerous projects. I had very clear ideas of the features I wanted, but realized if it was all ‘one-voice’ the final outcome would be a little flat. I drew up a long list of interesting, inspirational creatives (some of whom I’d never had any contact with), being careful that I had a good mix of photographers, stylists, designers, graphic designers, set designers etc. I think the key to attracting so many high-profile contributors was that I was only asking them to respond to very short, relatively simple (and hopefully fun!) tasks such as selecting their favorite advertising campaign of the season. I was very lucky in that only four people declined.”

printed publications are going to start exploring the possibilities of online; after all, that is where the future is. Dazed are already on the case. Pop are planning a summer launch of THEPOP.COM and I’m guessing i-D will follow suit. It’s really exciting that Nick anticipated this shift nine years before everyone else. It feels like we’re on the cusp of something big. I really believe our upcoming SHOWstudio exhibition, showcasing more than 20 of our best works is really going to make people sit up and take notice.”

Having received such an acclamation of success early on in your career do you feel pressured to live up to, or exceed, the expectations set by The Fashion Almanac? “So much has happened in the past twelve months. I find it quite hard to believe that this time last year I was working on finishing my magazine. I started back at SHOWstudio in August. I undertook an internship there during my year out of college and was offered a job for just over a year. We’ve been incredibly busy since I returned. We’re quite a small team and have had to contend with

“The almanac approach enabled me to bring to the forefront all the elements of the industry that usually stay hidden”

When you look to the future of fashion what are you most looking forward to and how do you think that you can help contribute to this movement?

“The industry is experiencing a lot of changes at the moment. The recession has had a dramatic affect on printed publications. Last week, the long-running style magazine i-D announced that it was cutting down from 12 to 6 issues a year. It is clear that a lot of

moving offices whilst juggling numerous large scale projects. We’re planning to open an on-site shop in July and a lot of my energies are focused on our upcoming major exhibition opening at London’s Somerset House in September. I do wish I’d had time to do another issue of The Fashion Almanac, but I feel very happy at the moment and there will always be time in the future.”

www.showstudio.com www.thefashionalmanac.com

Melding modern fashion elements with pieces and patterns inspired by different cultures, UK illustrator Patrick Gildersleeves is able to inject his work with a world of meaning. Interview by Lydia Castle

“I love the look of them: the patterns, the strangeness” t age ten, when his classmates were scribbling moustaches on bus-stops billboards, Patrick Gildersleeves was illustrating intricate battle scenes full of dragons, cowboys, soldiers and animals. Popular childhood storybook Where’s Wally, an early inspiration for Patrick, translated into some of the most complicated, crowded illustrative scenes that the schoolyard had ever seen. Today, at age twenty-four, Patrick is still drawing intricate pieces filled with a menagerie of people, animals and in-betweens. Patrick, born in sunny Suffolk, UK and currently residing in seaside Brighton, offers a portfolio of illustrations that views something like a psychedelic anthropology exhibit. This is understandable considering that Soviet space travel cards, folk art pieces of new China, Canadian Inuit tales and aged Apache tribe photographs from New Mexico are all at the top of Patrick’s current list of inspirations. Although he describes his own style as “fairly normal twenty-something man garb i.e. jeans and a t-shirt”, Patrick likes to illustrate the people in his drawings wearing clothing that he likes from all over the world. “I like drawing people wearing a combination of traditional clothing from places like South America and modern things like tracksuit tops.” Fashion historian Pearl Binder’s 1959 style encyclopedia Look at Clothes helped Patrick realize how fascinated he was by the aesthetics of dress. Although he admits that he liked the book “more for the illustrations”, he amends that he is “interested in clothes” and is “always searching for clothes for my characters to

wear.” The history of dress is especially intriguing to Patrick, as he “likes seeing what people used to wear before the kind of globalized fashion that is going on now.” Patrick is inspired by the tribal dress of indigenous peoples and works to translate the overall feel of the garments into his self-described “colourful, cautious” illustrations. Sealskin boots, buffalo pelt coats embellished with red and yellow stitching and straw moccasins all creep their way into this work. Patrick “love(s) the look of them: the patterns, the strangeness” and feels that they “add a sense of mystery and drama” to his illustrations. Patrick is always thinking about the stories behind the characters in his illustrations and likes to use dress as a way to communicate those stories to his viewers. By illustrating his characters into brightly coloured and unusual garments, Patrick encourages the viewer to “look at them and try to figure out where the characters in the picture might be and why they are dressed in that particular way.” Patrick notes that global fashion today makes it a “bit tricky” to “tell exactly where someone (is) from just by the way they are dressed.” His illustrations, however, work to translate their cultural roots to the viewer loud and clear. Going forward, Patrick aims to move away from “just drawing pleasant things” and hopes to “increase the drama and danger” in his pictures. But he is “sure there will always be an influence from other cultures.” Dress is, after all, part of who we are and how we best communicate.

“Playing by the Sea” by Patrick Gildersleeves

my was

By recreating photographs of our parents when they were young, we realize that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not so different from them afterall Photography by Twan van Dijk Production by Famke Visser Make-Up by Frank Hoefnagels

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Wilhemus, 1985

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Wilhelmus, 1985

Wicce, 2009

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Siem, 1985

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Siem, 1985

Jim, 2009

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Annemieke, 1976

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Annemieke, 1976

Natasha, 2009

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Mariska, 1985

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Mariska, 1985

Famke, 2009

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Text and Body Fashion silhouettes have always been influenced by the shape of the female body. Though the subject has been studied extensively, Debbie Simons uncovered a new layer to this field of study. As a result of her research on visual culture she discovered that there was a link between fashion, silhouettes and typography.

Text by Lisa Goudsmit

There has been an obsession throughout the late twentieth and early twenty first centuries with slim lines. Heroin chic models, wafer thin televisions and mobile phones that a small dog could mistake for kibble are what consumers have come to expect. Simons studied this fascination and concluded that silhouettes not only influence fashion but also the direction of typography. This is evident from the resurgence of Helvetica, a widely used sans serif developed in 1957 which features a slim design mimicking the direction of fashion. History has shown us that typography follows trends in fashion and society. During the Baroque period, it was attractive for women to be buxom, which was reflected in the extravagant curves of the typefaces used at this time. The same continued through the Rococo, dresses were made from layers of lavish fabrics and fonts were heavily ornamental, emphasizing the tendency towards decadence which was a hallmark of the time. After Coco Chanel freed women

around the globe from the oppressive fashion of body binding corsetry in the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;roaring twentiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, boyish figures became the height of style and garments hung shapeless and loose. At this time German typographer Jan Tschichold published an article about elementary typography detailing upcoming trends among typefaces. Introduced in the 1920s, Futura was an example of the new direction of type. Based on simple geometric forms and clean lines the font rejected the ornamentation and frivolity popular during previous decades. Not too much has changed with fonts over the past fifty years. Both type and fashion have maintained a relatively minimalist approach. Script fonts and garish couture clothing are no longer the norm and are used and created sparingly. The somewhat increasing popularity of script fonts corresponds with the movement towards personalization. What we can be sure of is that the next big trend to come will not just be reflected in fashion and figure, but in font as well.

Debbie Simons is fascinated by typography. She graduated in 2009 from the Amsterdam Fashion Institute from the Fashion & Branding department. For her graduation project she researched the use of nudity and pornographic elements in fashion photography. This article is based on research she did on the connection between fashion, body ideals and fonts.

Illustration by Famke Visser

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Spanish Designer Andrea Ayala Closa does things a little differently. Her latest collection ‘Denominate a Space’ featured designs shown in the dark and she has even experimented with bearded models. Currently holding the exhibition ‘Alter/Mode’, Closa aims to communicate new meanings through clothing... Interview by Lisa Goudsmit Photography by Francesc Fernandez Hair by Pelsynera

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“Maybe some people need fashion - I definitely don’t.” Getting Dressed in the Dark

“Everything can inspire me. Once I start working on a new project, I get so inspired by working in my studio. During the process of working I get the most inspiration. My latest collection was called ‘Denominate a Space’ and was mainly a collection of ideas. The setting for the show was dark. The whole surrounding was black. You did not see anything other than garments. Because of the dark you could not even see the faces of the models. The effect this gave was that the garments were walking on their own on stage. I try to avoid that sensual glamorous feeling that most fashion shows have, where people only look at the model and the way the model moves. For me the most important things are the clothes, so they are all I show. Actually, I did not even show whole garments. I avoided some parts being seen by the audience; by putting them in black they disappeared into the stage set. So I decided to show the audience only the pieces of the clothing I considered to be important.”

Fashion beyond clothing

“I am not a fashion designer. I would call myself a garment thinker. My work is largely investigative. So I try to make clothes that come from my drawings or from objects or shapes that I develop, and make them become a reality in my garments. Clothing for me is just a combination of fabrics’ texture, shape and colours. I don’t know why the world would need fashion… Does it? Maybe some people need fashion. I definitely don’t need fashion so much and probably 75% of the world does not need fashion at all. Currently I am working on an exhibition in different galleries in Stockholm, Sweden, in collaboration with Amsterdam-based designer Bogomir Doringer. It is called ‘Alter/Mode’ and is supposed to be a venue of dialogue. We want to communicate through clothing. We consider fashion to be something more than clothing and its functionality. Fashion beyond clothing is the theme. In the exhibition pictures of clothing are projected on big screens. We want to give the visitor the experience of observing fashion separate from trends, shopping and functionality. There is much more to see behind the world of fashion, and much more also to see behind the fact of making

clothes. At ‘Alter/Mode’ I also showcase paintings and objects I created. With the exhibition I want to show my work to people and hopefully get them to see a new point of view. It’s a good opportunity for me, a person that actually makes clothes in an artistic way, to show all that is behind the process of making a collection. My way of working is more than patterns, cutting and sewing. I need that other part that complements my work and makes my concept stronger, like the sculptures, my drawings, or the series of tarot cards. I am occupied with different sorts of art, not just clothing design.”

Living in a world filled with fantasy characters

“I believe in sharing and communication. I connect to people because of my work. But I also feel connected to others when I share the same artistic aesthetics or thoughts. Good people can be found everywhere - it doesn’t depend on a certain place. It is all about the quality of the people. I am just a human being that works, eats and sleeps. I do what I do because it’s a necessity. I really need to do what I do to make me feel good. Every day something else can make me feel powerful. For instance when I start a new day, with a good breakfast. When I look outside and see a sunny day, waiting for me to start, I feel happy. I had a great childhood. I was not living in the city, I was outside all day - running, investigating the forest with my cousins. I think this is such a different childhood from growing up in the city. I grew up living in my own fantasy world with animals and fantasy characters. I guess I still live in that world a little bit. I just cannot avoid it. My work keeps developing. My studies at the Royal Academy of Art in Antwerp, and getting so deep into my work during those 4 years, made me grow a lot. The constant research made me very selective. After all these years of developing projects I see peoples’ interest in my work. This is the first time I have exposed my work as an ‘artist’, at the exhibition in Sweden, and for me this is a great opportunity. Hopefully I can do more exhibitions like this in the future.” www.andreaayala.com Ayala’s collection ‘Re-drawn To Understand’ manipulates the body silhouette. Absurdity is a key word in the collection.

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Yoohoo Yokoo

Yokoo is an American knitwear designer. She’s fun.

Who are you?

“I am two with nature.” (Woody Allen)

What do you believe in?

“I just believe in Yoko and Me.” (John Lennon)

Why do you do what you do?

“...you wouldn’t ask a fish how it swims or a bird how it flies, silly. They do it because they were born to do it.” (Roald Dahl)

How has your childhood affected who you are today and what you do? “Birthdays was the worst days; now we sip champagne when we thirsty.” (Christopher Wallace)

Where do you think is the best place to meet good people? “It seemed the world was divided into good and bad people. The good ones slept better... while the bad ones seemed to enjoy the waking hours much more.” (Woody Allen)

What does clothing design mean to you?

“In most people’s vocabularies, design means veneer. It’s interior decorating. It’s the fabric of the curtains of the sofa. But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning of design. Design is the fundamental soul of a human-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service.” (Steve Jobs) What is the story you want to tell with the clothing that you wear? “You’ve seen what you were and know what you’ll be. You’ve seen it all - there is no more to see.” (Bjork)

If your designs could talk, what would they tell us? “Even when I lie, I’m telling the truth.” (Al Pacino)

What is your favourite tool?

“Boy these pretzels are making me thirsty!!”(Cosmo Kramer, Seinfeld)

Do you find it hard to sell your creations that you made with so much love and dedication (and hours of work)? “Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!” (Sally Albright, When Harry Met Sally)

Why do you need fashion? “God is a luxury I can’t afford.” (Judah Rosenthal)

Curious? www.yokoo.us Photo by Yokoo

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Illustrator Bios Caitlin Galuppe A 24 year old living in her hometown of Victoria BC, Canada. She is kept busy with painting and drawing psychedelic landscapes and portraits of friends. Aside from her art practice Caitlin plays in the bands Immaculate Machine and Slam Dunk and studies herbal medicine. She is looking forward to some good bonfires this summer.

Johanna Grönvall A 24 year-old fashion student currently residing in Amsterdam. Social with a mean temper, nice, enjoys bad humour, loves fashion, gets easily bored, tired of Sweden and its uniformity, thinks that Paris is the best city in the world, would do anything for her friends and family, sucker for curly dark hair.

Rachel Hardwick

A 17-year-old girl living in South England, who dreams of being an illustrator. She doesn’t know what she would do if it weren’t for her passion for pencils, paints, cameras and love of strange yet beautiful people, who can be replicated with the aid of these three simple devices. She likes to think that the genre of her work borders between fashion illustration and portraiture, capturing fashion in a more tangible, face-to-face way than if she were to “simply draw stick figures in dresses.”

Brett Manning A girl living in Chicago, USA who loves to draw, and draws what she loves. She is inclined to rely on self-inspiration so that her artwork is “just a small little look at what is going on in (her) brain at certain moments of time.” Her most frequented subjects are self-portraits, overly cute, furry, often obscure creatures, artistic, beautiful, genius men, autumn imagery, and seemingly innocent little girls with large watery eyes, wild hair, and quirky clothing.

Mariel Manuel From Switzerland - half Swiss, half American, living in Belgium and attending her 3rd year at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. She love traveling, discovering new places, drawing painting and dreaming.

Allyson Mellberg A 32-year old living in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA with her husband and collaborator Jeremy Seth Taylor and their cat Fricktoria. She received her BFA from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and her MFA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally at galleries and museums including: Musee d’Art Contemporain de Bordeaux, France, The Rose Museum, Haus der Kulturen der Welt Berlin, Germany, The Milwaukee Art Museum, La Maison Rouge in Paris, The Atlanta Contemporary Art Museum, The Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Space 1026, Needles and Pens, Third Drawer Down, Lump, and Cinders.

Caitlin Shearer A 19-year old from Australia who is a cross between Shirley Temple and Anne Frank and lives inside a pink walled bedroom, painting her days away.

Ellara Woodlock A fine arts student living in Melbourne, Australia, who turns “memories, dreams, fears, what-ifs and what-nots” into drawings. Illustration by Mariel Manuel

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It all came from somewhere

Antoine Peters Cream PR 020 4212124

Bertie at De Bijenkorf 0900 0919

Claes Iversen Ganbaroo PR PR 020 684 81 11

Daryl van Wouw Spice PR 020 4891031 Der Kommissar Never on Wednesday Com. 020 4197576 Django Steenbakker PRBB 020 3790587

EnD by Eva and Delia Ganbaroo PR PR 020 684 81 11 Episode 020 6264679

Fred Perry Ganbaroo PR PR 020 684 81 11 Illustration by Mariel Manuel

Individuals 020 5258133

Lady Day 020 6235820 Laura Dolls 020 6249066

MATTIJS Never on Wednesday Com. 020 4197576

Pied a Terre De Bijenkorf 0900 0919

Stella Nova Wig Anthology 020 4941025

Thelin Wig Anthology 020 4941025

Zara 020 6235820 Zipper 020 6235820

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Illustration by Mariel Manuel

Girls their Dresses Text by Lydia Castle

When I’m lying next to her, I feel content. Even though I’m starting to show signs of age, I know that she still loves me because she’s always mending my seams and caring for my delicate parts. She takes care of me. I mean, I know I’m not the only one but I’m still a big part of her life. We used to go out almost every Saturday night – and if I was lucky she would even take me out for a lunch date or a family dinner party. I don’t see her now as much as I would like to, but we’re still close.

I’m not the only one but I’m still a big part of her life

When I’m feeling a little nostalgic, I’ll pull her out. We’ve had so many good times together. She’s perfect, really – feels comfortable in almost any situation. My Mom, my Dad, my boyfriend, everyone loves her. She reminds them of what I was like when I was a little bit younger, a little more innocent. I love how she makes me feel: soft. She really does remind me of easier times. I mean, I sort of feel like I’ve outgrown her but at the same time I keep coming back. She’ll always remind me of who I once was.

Illustration by Tara Dougans